• Reduced federal grant allocations partially restored
Districts that were notified back in October of a reduction to their school year 2011-12 ESEA Title I Part A, ESEA Title II Part A and IDEA Part B Section 611 grant allocations can expect to see some of the cut funds returned to their allocation.
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• More information on Personal Finance Standards released
Personal Finance Standards were adopted by the South Dakota Board of Education in July 2011.

• February is National Career and Technical Education Month
It's Career and Technical Education Month across the country, and to help celebrate, Governor Daugaard has proclaimed Tuesday, Feb. 7, as Career and Technical Student Organization Day in South Dakota.

The 2012 legislative session is in its fourth week, and the bills have begun to move. Below is a look at some of this year’s education-related bills. To access all bills and their status, visit the Legislative Research Council’s website and click on “Current Legislative Session.”

SB 25 – If passed, this bill would allow South Dakota to move ahead with developing new administrative rules related to accountability. The rules
would reflect the contents of the department's proposed new Accountability Model and ESEA waiver application. The bill was
introduced in Senate Education, where the committee voted to send it to Appropriations. The Appropriations Committee then added an amendment
that requires the department to develop and implement a financial rating system for public school districts by 2014-15. The amended bill passed
Appropriations on an 8 to 0 vote.

SB 44 and SB 130 – These are two variations on a bill that would require districts to have a bullying policy in place. SB 44 was heard earlier
this week, and no action was taken. SB 130 will come up next week. FYI: A December 2011 survey of districts indicates that 90 percent have a
bullying policy in place.

SB 144 – This bill would have required all students in 11th grade to
take either the ACT or ACT's WorkKeys assessment. The bill died in
committee earlier this week.

HB 1006 and 1007 – These two bills represent the Department of Education’s clean-up bills under the governor’s regulatory reform initiative. Both passed through House Education and the House floor easily. One of the things eliminated is the requirement for districts to submit a report on long-term substitutes.

HB 1124 – A bill that would allow districts to pay for background checks
of employees has made it through the House. The language is permissive.
In committee, the vote was 14 to 0 in favor. On the floor, the vote was
64 to 1 in favor.

HB 1195 – This bill gives schools the authority to collect fees for
certain educational programming and services, and specifically mentions
early childhood services. The House Education Committee agreed to two
amendments to the bill: 1) the first makes it clear that there can be no
charge for extracurricular activities, and 2) the second puts an
emergency clause on, so that the bill can be in effect immediately upon
being signed by the governor. The bill made it through committee and
passed the House by a vote of 55 to 12.

HB 1234 – This is the governor’s bill related to bonuses for top teachers and math and science teachers. His proposal would also phase out continuing contract status. Those who already have continuing contract would keep it. The bill has been assigned to the House Education Committee. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing yet but should come up next week.

HB 1145 – This bill would eliminate continuing contract status completely. The bill was heard in House Education, but no action was taken on the bill.

HB 1189 – This bill would set up two deadlines during the school year, after which no students would be allowed to transfer through the open enrollment program.

A handful of funding bills have been introduced as well, and those should start being heard soon. Some have been assigned to the Education Committees; others directly to the Appropriations Committee.